Can You Give Thanks for Having Diabetes?

Consider that once you accept your situation, you can stop using so much energy fighting it. All that energy is now available for you to take stock of your life. What has gotten you to this place? Years of eating too much convenience or processed food? Perhaps too many sugared coffee drinks? Not enough exercise? Poor sleep? What if you thought about your diabetes as a wakeup call? An opportunity to make changes in your life that over time will add up to better, stable blood sugar levels and better, stable insulin levels? What would that be like for you? Could you give thanks for that?

When you were diagnosed with diabetes, you probably felt fear, anger, denial and more. Now you have to change your life – stop eating what you’ve been eating for years and making lifestyle changes that you have avoided for many reasons. One problem is having to let go of coping skills that are keeping you sick. Developing different coping skills and modifying your lifestyle are big changes and can feel overwhelming.

As you begin to make adjustments in your life, think about how grateful you might be to still have your toes and feet, your eyesight and your kidney function. What would it feel like for you to know you were taking responsibility for your health? No one likes to go kicking and screaming into having to make these kinds of changes but what if it meant prolonging and improving the quality of your life? Developing diabetes may be the thing that saves your life.

Being grateful may be asking a lot, depending on where you are in your journey. I have heard of people who have multiple sclerosis or other chronic conditions such as becoming paraplegic or quadriplegic. They have made serious changes in their outlook, how they live their life and what is important to them. They are truly grateful for their situation because it has given their life a different meaning and so much more.

Not everyone experiences these types of things in a positive way. There are many things you can’t control in your life but you can control how you feel about your situation, your life and your future. If you choose to be despairing, angry or depressed about your condition, the rest of your life may be pretty miserable. If you changed your attitude to be grateful for what you can do, what you do have and who is in your life, it can make the rest of your life infinitely better.

I’m not saying you should be thrilled or overjoyed with having diabetes. But, if you see it as an opportunity to make changes that improve your health, to stop eating foods that will keep you sick, to change the way you take care of yourself, would you consider changing your mindset around it?

It might take doing work you aren’t prepared to do. This would include digging into your past and doing the emotional work you may have been avoiding by using food, alcohol, drugs or other coping skills that are detrimental to your health.

It’s your choice. What will you decide?

Dr Elaine

Download my free 30 Day Guide to Manage or Reverse Type 2 Diabetes 

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition.

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